Large sections of the Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk were destroyed by superstorm Sandy. / TOM SPADER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Written by

Kristi Funderburk

@kfunder

POINT PLEASANT BEACH — A destination for thousands during the summer became a splintered and shattered mess one late October night after superstorm Sandy ripped through the resort town.

Now, borough officials are taking steps to repair or replace roughly half of the boardwalk, or about 2,800 feet, damaged by the hurricane. And they want to do it before summer rolls around again.

“It’s in bad shape,” Mayor Vincent Barrella said. “It’s in need of repair up and down from north to south.”

In the days after the storm, Barrella spoke confidently that the asset would be restored in time for the summer season. Thousands tread the boardwalk, home to rides, amusements, bars and restaurants, on a warm summer day.

After Sandy, several sections on the northern end of the boardwalk were lost to the storm and the block between Trenton and Arnold avenues is “like splinters,” borough engineer Raymond Savacool said. The decking was ripped from its place on the southern end, he said.

Savacool said he will have to re-examine the total 5,200-foot boardwalk again before the borough goes out to bid for the work, but estimated restoration could cost in the $2 million range.

Dan Friendly, a resident of Ocean Avenue, said he hopes the borough considers the look of the boardwalk when it moves forward with restoration, especially considering so much of it will have to be rebuilt.

“I think myself and a lot of people would like to see a natural wood boardwalk,” he said.

Savacool couldn’t say how long the job could take, noting the borough might break the job into multiple contracts. But he did say the borough would likely award the bid early next year to get work started as soon as possible.

“We’re looking to have the boardwalk operational by summer 2013,” he said.

About a month before Sandy was even on the radar, the Borough Council considered looking to boardwalk businesses to help share the cost with walkway repairs needed because of damage sustained under last summer’s Hurricane Irene, which was downgraded to a tropical storm when it made landfall in New Jersey.

At the time, some borough officials also were calling for a long-term plan to repair the boardwalk, parts of which haven’t been touched in two decades.

Cost was a major reason for delay. A 2009 engineer’s survey put the bill at $4 million.

Like with the necessary repairs following Irene, Point Pleasant Beach could be reimbursed for up to 75 percent of the cost to restore the boardwalk damaged by Sandy through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“Without FEMA reimbursement, there’s no way Point Pleasant Beach can afford to replace the boardwalk,” Barrella said.